The Pope derides those who have “blind faith” in technological advances as a solution to climate change. Instead, his encyclical declares that the world must stop consuming so much. That, he says, will help the poor people who stand to be affected most by global warming. That is troubling, because technical innovation is exactly what we need more of. Humanity’s answer to huge levels of famine wasn’t to insist we should eat less. The Green Revolution, one of the great achievements of the past century, saw scientific and technological advances dramatically increase the productivity of food —...

One-quarter of all the food in the world is lost each year, owing to inefficient harvesting, inadequate storage, and wastage in the kitchen. Halve that waste, and the world could feed an extra billion people – and make hunger yesterday’s problem. The extent of food loss is particularly galling in view of a new global study on food security from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. According to the FAO, 57 developing countries have failed to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of hungry people by this year. One in every nine people on the planet...

Pope Francis's concern for the poor is clear, so it is understandable that climate change is the topic of his forthcoming Encyclical — a Papal letter that is sent out to the world. Climate change will hit the most destitute people first and worst. But the Pope after his letter is officially published, he should tread carefully. The climate policies of today will do little for the poor.

David Cameron will meet fellow world leaders at the G7 conference in Germany. There he has an opportunity to quadruple the reach of British and global aid without spending an extra penny. To do so, he must convince the G7 – representing the biggest global donors – to get serious about focusing on the smartest ways to spend aid money. In short, he needs to persuade them that the United Nations’ unwieldy list of 169 proposed “Sustainable Development Goals” needs to be slashed to just 19 effective development investments, covering three broad areas: people, planet and prosperity.

ABUJA, NIGERIA – Over the next 15 years, the international community will spend $2.5 trillion on development, with national budgets contributing countless trillions more. In September, the world’s 193 governments will meet at the United Nations in New York to agree on a set of global targets that will direct these resources. With so much at stake, it is vital that we make the smartest choices.